Abstract: Disclosed is a method for preventing adhesion or caking of raw materials such as oil as it is subjected to hydrogenation gasification while being heated to above 700.degree. K. as it passes downwardly through a reaction vessel. The particles of raw materials as they pass through the vessel in a temperature zone of about 600.degree. to 700.degree. K. directly contact a medium at a temperature above 1000.degree. K. to rapidly heat the surfaces of the particles to above 700.degree. K. by direct contact with the hot medium alone, in the absence of combustion reaction, to cause the particles to become non-caking in its further downward passage through the reaction vessel.

Abstract: Steam generator for a solar power plant, with an evaporator heating surface having a front side exposable to focused sun rays and a rear side adjacent a chamber, and burner means for supplying at least part of the heat required by the steam generator, the burner including a sintered-block slab operating as a reformed-gas generator, a burner plate disposed downstream of the sintered-block slab in flow direction of the gas, the burner plate being disposed immediately adjacent the rear side of the evaporator heating surface, and an air-permeable further heating surface for the steam generator disposed between the sintered-block slab and the burner plate.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of preventing adhesion or caking of raw materials such as oil or coal as it is subjected to hydrogenation gasification while being heated to above 700.degree. K. as it passes downwardly through a reaction vessel. The particles of raw materials as they pass through the vessel in a temperature zone of about 600 to 700.degree. K. directly contact a medium intermittently at a temperature above 1000.degree. K. to rapidly heat the surfaces of the particles to above 700.degree. K. by direct contact with the hot medium alone, in the absence of combustion reaction, to cause the particles to become non-caking in its further downward passage through the reaction vessel.

Abstract: In a gas generation method in which liquid fuel is catalytically reacted with air at elevated temperatures to form a fuel gas, several plates each having a multiplicity of passage openings are arranged in tandem in spaced fashion within the reaction chamber of the gas generator and are embedded in a bed of packing material with the thermal conductivity of the plates higher than that of the packing material in order to obtain more uniform heating of the reaction chamber and better mixing and distribution of the reacting media permitting the gas generator to be loaded more heavily.

Abstract: System for recovering oil products from oil sands in which superheated steam from a nuclear reactor is mixed with water in a chamber under high superatmospheric pressure to obtain hot water at a temperature near the boiling point at the prevailing pressure. The hot water enters a reaction tube which has an input screw conveyor for feeding oil sands into the reaction tube in contact with the hot water to effect release of the oil from the sands. The outlet of the reaction tube opens into a hydrocyclone into which the reaction products of oil and sand and water are discharged. A screw conveyor at the bottom of the hydrocyclone discharges separated sand and some water which passes into a settling tank to settle the sand and the clarified water is filtered and returned to the pressure chamber. The separated oil together with some water from the hydrocyclone flows to an oil separator where the oil separates from the water, which latter is also returned to the pressure chamber.

Abstract: Refining of crude petroleum by fractionally distilling the crude into lighter cuts and distillate bottoms constituting more than 50% of the crude. Hydrogenating the distillate bottoms at a temperature above 700.degree. C. in a tubular reactor to produce saturated hydrocarbons, some gas and a solid carbonaceous material. Separating the solid material in a cyclone and returning the hydrogenated oil to the fractionating column. Passing the solid carbonaceous material by an extruder to a second tubular reactor in contact with a mixture at a temperature above 750.degree. C. of steam, 1 and 2 carbon atom gases, and combustion products containing O.sub.2 from a third cyclone. Discharging the reaction products containing unreacted carbonaceous material together with substantially no O.sub.2, production of H.sub.2 and increased amounts of CO and CO.sub.2 into a second cyclone. Separating the gaseous products from the solid, recovering H.sub.2 and passing it to the first reactor tube.

Abstract: An oxidic catalyst for the conversion of water gas which consists of oxides of the metals aluminum, lanthanum, cobalt, nickel and uranium, with the aluminum oxide being present predominantly as .alpha.-Al.sub.2 O.sub.3. The lanthanum and cobalt content is 5 to 30% by weight, that of nickel, 0.1 to 4% by weight and of uranium, 0.1 to 2% by weight, related to the total weight of the catalyst.

Abstract: According to the invention, the fuel is supplied to the reformed-gas generator in an amount at least approximately proportional to the instantaneous demand of the internal-combustion engine and is mixed there, in atomized or evaporated form, with so much air and/or fed-back exhaust gas drawn in through the reformed-gas generator that for the air component of the mixture, the air number for the reaction of the fuel in the converter is at least 0.05 but not more than 0.5 and the exhaust gas component does not fall below the exhaust gas quantity equivalent to the air number 0.05 and does not exceed the exhaust gas quantity equivalent to the air number 0.5. The fuel gas mixture produced in this manner, prior to being fed to the combustion chambers of the internal-combustion engine, is mixed with enough additional air sucked in by the internal-combustion engine such that the air number for the combustion in these combustion chambers is at least equal to 1.

Abstract: Coal gasification apparatus having a hydrogenation gasifier chamber for gasifying a portion of coal charge and a steam gasifier vessel for gasifying unconverted coal from the hydrogenation chamber with the chamber disposed above the vessel and a pressure lock interposed between the outlet of the chamber and the inlet of the vessel to permit unconverted coal to flow into the vessel and prevent gas generated therein from passing into the chamber. An oxygen inlet is provided at the lower end of the vessel for residual-oxidation of remaining coal. A heat exchanger is provided for heat exchange between hot gas leaving vessel and incoming steam. The chamber may be preceded by a steam-heated heating tank for preheating the coal under pressure and then suddenly decompressing the coal.

Abstract: A catalyst for converting higher hydrocarbons, in particular for converting such hydrocarbons into gas mixtures containing carbon monoxide, methane and/or hydrogen in which the active component oxides of the metals lanthanum, cobalt, nickel, uranium, cerium and thorium are placed on an oxide substrate, preferably a sintered body of magnesium oxide or aluminum oxide to result in a catalytic structure particularly useful with internal combustion engines for motor vehicles.

Abstract: The invention concerns a column for bringing gases or vapors and liquids into contact which uses a plurality of plates made from a highly porous, open-pore, sintered material. According to the invention, the gas and the liquid are conducted in this column countercurrent-wise; the column plates are equipped with run-off tubes which have at the lower end a gas shut-off device such that upon starting, the path for the gas is blocked by the gas shut-off device because of the liquid column contained therein. This liquid column exerts on the gas a larger pressure than corresponds to the pressure difference between the gas in the space under the associated column plate and that above. The run-off tube is of such size that it is only partly filled by the liquid column so that it can continuously adjust itself during operation.

Abstract: The invention concerns a device for quick starting a reformed gas converter. A first fuel nozzle vaporizes fuel supplied thereto and directs the fuel towards a flame tray. An oxygen carrying gas is combined with the vaporized fuel and the mixture is ignited by a suitable ignition device. The hot gases generated permeate through the device to pre-heat a catalytic converting material such as a perforated sintered block. A second fuel nozzle, after the converting material has been pre-heated to a minimum temperature, directs a stream of vaporized liquid fuel against the heated block. The reform gas generated passes into the reform gas generator proper as fuel therefor. By control of the combustion temperature, the hot gases generated by the ignition step when they pass through the sintered block will also be partially converted to reform gas, suitable for fuel for the generator proper, thereby allowing immediate operation of the generator.

Abstract: An internal combustion engine system, particularly as used for automotive vehicle propulsion, includes the engine with a muffler for reducing engine exhaust noise and fuelled by gas produced by a miniaturized gas reformer requiring heating and a supply of vaporized liquid hydrocarbon and oxygen-containing gas, the reformer usually being enclosed by a larger enclosure to form a space through which the engine exhaust is passed for supplying heat to the reformer, and having an exhaust heated heat-exchanger for its intake. By positioning the reformer inside of the engine's muffler so that the exhaust heat there is used to supply heat to the reformer, the need for the bulk-increasing larger enclosure is eliminated, and by arranging the intake heat-exchanger in the muffler so that the exhaust flow through the muffler is deflected both when entering and leaving the exchanger, a multi-deflected and therefore exhaust noise attenuation exhaust flow results.